It’s the holiday season. Cut through the slick marketing and commer­cial­ism, and it should be a time to give thanks and spend time with friends and family.

For me, living with multiple myeloma makes every day bittersweet. It can be hard to stay positive, especially this time of year. I’ll admit it: thoughts of possibly missing future holidays – and time with those I love – some­times makes it challenging for me to focus on all of the good things.

But that’s the point. There are some good things.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Having cancer has been …

The leaves have turned, and they have lined our yard with golden hues of brown and russet — a reminder that all good things must change in their own time. It’s almost Thanksgiving, and I find myself very thankful. I’m thankful that, while the winds of change have blown, we’re still here; my husband Daniel, smoldering with asymptomatic myeloma since 2012, and me, his caregiver.

The topic of my column this month came to me while attending a patient edu­ca­tion program in Houston several weeks ago. The program gave myeloma patients and their caregivers the opportunity …

So why is hair so important? This may seem like an odd question to ask. As you will see, it is an especially unusual question for me to ask.

My hair has always been a very important part of my life.

As a child, when the relatives would gather and the family photos would come out, my mom would  always pass around one of me as a three-year-old standing on the beach with a full head of dark curly hair. “Oohs and ahs” were sure to follow.

As a teenager, once I …

The other day, I realized I share a common bond with my daughter’s pet fish: We’re both survivors.

Maybe I’m getting too attached to this fish. Maybe I’m overthinking things. Just hear me out.

Statistically, betta fish who come to live in our home have an extremely low survival rate.

When a fish learns he is going to live in the Crowley house, it is grim news indeed. It is essentially a death sentence. The fish is stunned. He begins to get his affairs in order. He has a brave battle ahead …

One thing that has enabled me to maintain a positive attitude while battling multiple myeloma is the realization that, no matter how difficult things become for me, there are others who are fighting far tougher battles than I am. I am in­spired by their courage and resiliency.

Little did I know that I would get that inspiration from my immediate and extended family. I was reminded of this when a large post card arrived in the mail the other day.

Half of one side of the card showed a picture of a …

This month marks ten years since my initial diagnosis of multiple myeloma. The more days, months, and years between then and now, the farther out I am on the branch of mortality. As I told my friend Larry, who was diagnosed with myeloma 13 years ago, we’re both at the point we can hear that branch creaking and threatening to crack.

What an excellent time to read Atul Gawande’s new book, Being Mortal.

Being Mortal is getting a lot of favorable attention, and for good reason. Gawande, a surgeon and medical writer, …

As you may remember from my July column, I celebrated my five-year myeloma survival this summer.

I was particularly happy that I have not received any treatment since April 2011. Instead, I have comprehensive blood testing done and see my doctor every three months.

Unfortunately, the ‘watch and wait’ phase that I had been in since April 2011 is now over.

At the beginning of October, my blood test results showed that my M-spike had increased to 1 g/dL (10 g/L), and the serum free light chain ratio was at 11 …